[August 25, 2014]In its fourth year, the “Up in
Smoke on the Square” Kansas City Barbeque Society competition is
continuing to grow. There were over 50 entrants in the professional
competition this year.

The participants in the professional competition range from newbies
to veterans and hail from various places around the country with
many of them participating in numerous competitions between April
and October. According to the KCBS website, it “sanctions and judges
BBQ competitions across the U.S. and promotes barbeque as America’s
cuisine.” KCBS endorses “nearly 300 events across the country” in
“44 states.” Contestants are judged in four categories: Chicken,
ribs, pork, and brisket. Entries are evaluated for taste, appearance
and texture.

Sideburn BBQ

One of the newer teams here for this year’s Up in Smoke was
‘Sideburn BBQ’ from Indianapolis, Indiana. Team members Joe
Johnson and Kile Lewison said that this was their third competition
this summer. They participated in events in Morton and the
Indianapolis State Fair. The pair said that it is a lot of fun and
they meet a lot of great people when competing. For their
barbequing, Sideburn uses their own special blend of spices.

Double Nickel 7

The ‘Double Nickel 7’ team, with members George Jacaway and
Don Gray and George IV and Noah Gray are from nearby Springfield,
and just started competing at the professional level. It is their
first KCBS competition and second major competition. They did well
at a competition in Jacksonville, Florida, receiving 4th out of 60
teams in the ribs competition. Jacaway and Gray said they are
“learning and honing skills” and are “here to learn from the big
dogs.” The Double Nickel 7 recipe has a little bit of heat to it
with a blend of various spices and sauces.

Pork Paradise

‘Pork Paradise’ team members Nick, Jamie and Mark Merritt
consider themselves rookies as it is only their second year in the
competition. Nick says he likes to prepare his meats “hot and fast
rather than low and slow” using his drum smokers, and said that
“everyone has a little different method.” The Pork Paradise team
uses a special blend of spices and every meat gets something
different.

Wayne and Lynne
Reeder

Wayne and Lynne Reeder,
along with their children have been involved in these competitions
for the past four years and won grand champion at events in
Columbia, Missouri and Davenport, Iowa. Head cook Wayne and his
assistant cook Lynne participate in ten to twelve competitions a
year and love going to the World Series of BBQ in Kansas City. Wayne
has taken barbequing classes and says he uses special sauces, but
often likes to tweak his recipe. He says it is in his blood and he
is passionate about it. In order to win, they say you have to “wow”
the judges. Even though they compete against one another, Wayne says
he “picks up tidbits from others” and there is “good camaraderie”
between teams.

Another team that has been competing for the past four years is
‘PitmasterIQ BBQ’ from O’Fallon, Missouri. As with the Reeder’s
team, PitmasterIQ BBQ is also a family affair with members John and
Barb Kennington, son Matt and daughter-in-law Kristen. The family
has participated in twenty competitions this year, hitting it hard
in the spring and early summer and travelling as far as Minnesota to
compete. They will have a busy fall as well as they plan to
participate in six weekends of events. Though most of the
competitions the PitmasterIQ have been in are during the busy
competition season between April and October, John says that they
have “participated in a freeze BBQ in January” when there was “ten
inches” of snow on the ground. Member of both the KCBS and the St.
Louis BBQ Society, the Kenningtons have won grand champion in North
Kansas City. They say they have gotten to know a lot of great people
through these competitions.

Smokin' Butts BBQ

In their sixth year of KCBS competitions is the ‘Smokin’ Butts
BBQ’ team comprised of Lee and Judy Thompson. The team name was
given to them by a judge at their first competition. Judy says, “we
enjoy cooking as a hobby” and started competing at “county fairs.”
She also notes, “when you do one, you are hooked.” They smoke their
meat for 16-18 hours using various spices. The Thompsons describe
the other teams as “a good group of people and a good fraternity. We
help each other out [and] would go to the ends of the earth for one
another.”

Though only one team wins the grand champion prize, there is
solidarity among the teams as they banter with one another. Merrill
Fuller, a former competitor, “enjoys meeting people at competitions”
and says “these competitions are like mini-reunions.”

The ‘Backyard BBQ’ competition teams come mainly from nearby towns.
Backyard BBQ gives amateurs a chance to shine. This competition has
just two categories: Pork ribs and chicken. The “Up in Smoke on the
Square” website says “this fun, BYO everything competition, except
for the free bag of charcoal provided to each team by Royal Oak,
allows you to get a taste of the full competition experience without
the added stress” and describes it as “more of a block party than a
competition.”

Terry Dobson and Tim “T-Bone” Cliffe of the ‘T-Bone’s Emporium’
team are first year rookies. Terry says, “It is about fun. We love
the social part and make a lot of friends.” She said, “Food is
always flowing at our table,” so she really enjoys cooking. In a
previous competition their team was one of nineteen rookies and they
finished 36 out of 59 teams, which they felt good about.

Blue Bear's BBQ

The ‘Blue Bear’s BBQ’ team from Green Valley, Illinois is
comprised of members Kent, Sally, and Andrew Caulkins, and all say
it is a lot of fun. They have been involved in seasonal competitions
for three years and do competitions about once a month during the
season. Blue Bears won a Pork BBQ competition, and received second
place in chicken two years in a row. Sally says they use a special
blend of spices and sauces, and jokingly calls their recipe “an
ancient Chinese secret.”

Though there are only a few winners in each competition, competitors
all say they have fun doing it and really enjoy the camaraderie
between the various teams.